Isaiah 19 – Egyptian Against Egyptian



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     Nearly 3,000 years ago, the Prophet Isaiah gave this proclamation about Egypt, that to this day has not yet come true. Are we seeing it today?

The burden against Egypt.

     Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud,

     And will come into Egypt;

     The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,

     And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

          “I will set Egyptians against Egyptians;

     Everyone will fight against his brother,

     And everyone against his neighbor,

     City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

          The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst;

     I will destroy their counsel,

     And they will consult the idols and the charmers,

     The mediums and the sorcerers.

          And the Egyptians I will give

     Into the hand of a cruel master,

     And a fierce king will rule over them,”

     Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 19:1—4 (NKJV).

     It might be a little too early to tell whether this prophecy is coming true with the current events in Egypt, but it certainly will come true one day. Based on other related eschatological predictions, it will also likely occur shortly before the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth. Our natural reaction is to believe that the things written so long ago in the Bible are always way off into the future. But that thinking is not Biblical. Our Lord commanded us, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Matthew 24:42 (NKJV).  Therefore, we need to be prepared that we are the generation who will see His return.

     Jesus also gave us some signs to look for, indicating that His return is near. He warned that the last days before His return will be marked by violence. The world has always been violent, ever since Cain murdered his brother Abel in a jealous rage. See Genesis 4:1—15. However, Jesus said that national violence would be a sign that His return is drawing near:

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Matthew 24:6—8 (NKJV).

     Since the early part of the Twentieth Century, we have certainly seen this. Virtually every place in the entire world has been involved in some sort of war, either active or cold, since the outbreak of World War I. I would even say that it began earlier than that, for by the Nineteenth Century, imperialism had already spread like wildfire with the various European, Ottoman, and Japanese empires.

     However, we have not seen anything like the worldwide carnage that erupted when World War I catapulted kingdom against kingdom. Then the global “cold wars,” or rumors of war, emerged shortly after World War II ended.

     Other than the general description of wars and rumors of wars, the Bible doesn’t tell us much about the European wars, and says nothing at all about the United States. But the Bible says quite a lot about the nations surrounding Israel, because as the Prophet Zechariah pointed out, during the last days before the Messiah’s reign on earth, all the nations surrounding Israel will seek to destroy it like drunkards going after the last bottle of booze:

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

Zechariah 12:2, 3 (NKJV).

     In modern times, there have only been a few nations surrounding Israel that have prevented it from being completely destroyed. Many of these same nations had tried to conquer Israel since it became a nation again in 1948, but were unsuccessful. Since the last large scale war against Israel in 1973, the Yom Kippur War, a few nations have been standing in the way of further large scale attacks against Israel.

     Those nations are Turkey, Jordan and Egypt. Today, however, all three of those power structures have changed. Turkey has turned aside from being quite friendly with Israel to siding with Israel’s extreme enemies, Iran and Syria. Jordan is on the verge of changing too as the radicals favoring Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are toppling the monarchy’s government.

     The upheaval in Egypt, however, has been the biggest blow to Israel. Time will tell if we are seeing Isaiah’s account come to pass before our eyes. The reason that I think it is in fact happening now is that so many other “end times” events are coming to pass that we have been expecting from Scripture. Many signs could be pointed to that involve the Church (many falling away from the true Gospel; see Matthew 24:9—12, 2 Timothy 3:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:3), society (complete breakdown of morality; see 2 Timothy 3:1—5), the economy (a global currency controlled by a central authority; see Revelation 13:16, 17), environmentalism (worshiping the creation instead of the Creator; see Romans 1:25), evolution (preferring to believe myths rather than truth; see Romans 1:18—32, 2 Timothy 4:3, 4, 2 Peter 3:4), and more. However, the predictions involving Israel and its neighbors are the most glaring.

     Against all humanly speaking odds, the nation of Israel was reborn in 1948 after the Jews were driven from the land in 70 A.D., just as Scripture predicted would occur in the latter days. See Ezekiel 36:19, 37:21, 22, 38:8. Through the Prophet Ezekiel, God said that the day would come when God would bring the Jews back from all around the world where they were scattered, and restore their nation Israel, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24 (NKJV).

     The Roman Empire is also reemerging in the form of the European Union (“EU”), and specifically its confederacy project called the Union for the Mediterranean or EuroMed. Israel, as predicted by the Prophet Daniel, has already fallen under the auspices of that Revived Roman Empire through EuroMed, just as it was a subject of the Ancient Roman Empire. See Daniel 2:31—35 (describing the nations that would dominate Israel until the Messianic Kingdom, the legs of iron being the ancient Roman Empire, and the feet partly of iron and partly of clay being the Revived Roman Empire that we are seeing in the EU); see also Europa: Euromed, The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, http://eeas.europa.eu/euromed/index_en.htm, Centre for Research on Globalization, The Mediterranean Union: Dividing the Middle East and North Africa, http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6879.

     For the first time in history, the alliance of nations that Ezekiel said would attack Israel in the latter years have united: Russia (Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech & Tubal), Iran (Persia), Turkey (Gomer & Beth-togarmah), Libya (Put) and Sudan (Cush). See Ezekiel 38:1—6. Through Ezekiel God said:

In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.

Ezekiel 38:8b, 9 (NKJV).

     Ezekiel mentions in the preceding passage that Israel is dwelling safely. If we look at Israel today, they are far from dwelling safely, with constant threats of annihilation coming from every direction. Thus many “prophecy watchers,” including myself, believe that a war will come to Israel that results in the utter destruction of Israel’s closest neighbors.

     That war is described in Isaiah 17, with the destruction of Damascus, Syria’s capital city and the hideout for many of the terrorist leaders who are calling for Israel’s extinction. I believe that it may also be described in Psalm 83, which talks about a conspiracy among Israel’s immediate neighbors who say, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, [t]hat the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” Psalm 83:4b (NKJV).

     The confederation of nations in Psalm 83 are: Egyptians (Hagrites), Arabs (Ishmaelites), Jordan (Edom, Moab & Ammon), Lebanon (Gebal & Tyre), Syria (Assyria), Gaza (Philistia) and the rest of the Palestinians as well as all those who hate Israel (Amalek). See Psalm 83:5—8. The exact separation of those nations is a bit difficult, and my list could be off a little. However, it is best to understand this confederacy as Israel’s immediate ring neighbors as viewed on a map, whereas Ezekiel’s list is comprised of Israel’s outer ring of neighbors.

     Obviously, nations have been conspiring against Israel with that same sentiment even before Psalm 83 was written, approximately 3,000 years ago. However, I am unaware of any confederation of those nations recorded in history, at least not in recorded history that has survived to this day.

     The fall of Egypt to the Muslim Brotherhood, or whatever power group takes over in Egypt is possibly the last event to take place that will allow for the Psalm 83 invasion to occur, which eventually will result in the destruction of those nations, as well as the Isaiah 17 prediction of Damascus “cease[ing] from being a city.” Isaiah 17:1b (NKJV).

     Time will only tell whether these things are happening today. Concerning Egypt, Isaiah said, “a fierce king will rule over them.” Isaiah 19:4b (NKJV). I believe that this fierce king is the Antichrist, Egypt being part of the EU’s EuroMed project, which makes up the borders of Ancient Rome. If Egypt eventually falls under the EU’s control, it will become clearer that the Isaiah 19 prophecy has indeed begun. [*See Correction Note Below*]

     Please do not dismiss these things. Jesus gave us the signs of His return for a reason. After describing those signs, Jesus warned:

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near … But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Luke 21:28, 34—36 (NKJV).

     And most importantly, if you have never bowed your knee before Jesus Christ in repentance, and put your faith in Him, that He took upon Himself at the cross the penalty that you rightfully deserve for all of your sins, please do it now! Regardless of whether we are living in the “end times,” you will face Him one day and give an account. If you die unrepentant, you will be judged for your sins. But the good news of the Gospel of Christ is that He offers forgiveness for everyone who asks through repentance and faith. Do not be a rebel! If you hear His voice, do as Jesus commanded, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15b (NKJV).

*Correction: After thinking about this issue of who the fierce king of the Egyptians might be, I actually don’t think it is the Antichrist. For that reason, I also do not think that the proof of this prophecy coming true is Egypt coming under control of the EU. I wrote a second comment on this issue that goes more in depth here: http://lambslawnewsblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/isaiah-19-fierce-king-of-egyptians.html.